Sidra, ji woh to bohot hi gulzar hai … kam az kam uski zindagi ka maqsad to poora ho gaya. Though she is a lovely girl, I really think Sidra needs other hobbies besides matchmaking. Khair, now with Kashaf and Shehnila both hooked and booked, Sidra can start planing her return trip and focus on her own life. Like other timelines in the story, her vacation too seems endless.

Apart from these four standouts, there was a lot else going on as well… Ghazala was unhappy; Junaid cautiously so, after all who knows when he has to side with whom so better to be careful when taking sides; Rafia was happy, after displaying a rare out of character moment; Murtaza was happy, more so because his beloved son was there to complete the family portrait; Nigar was missing, so I’m sure she was unhappy. Ab Murtaza sahab ne to ghar jaa kar un se suni hi hogi, I just hope we don’t have to hear from her next week. Perhaps she’ll get lucky and get invited to the most-awaited wedding of the decade?

The chaai ka cup and how it turned everything around is a nuance very few could have played well considering there was so little said. I think the director did a pretty good job there but the clincher for me was Sanam’s expressions in that scene. Her eyes spelt how overwhelmed she felt at that point. You could tell she was split between leaping to help Zaroon and a surge of feelings for him in her heart. Well played Sanam Saeed, you are an actress par excellence.

I wonder if the chaai cup part is present in the actual novel.

Ab atleast for a while things will be a bit gulzar. Looking forward to see how Zaroon builds Kashaf’s trust in him.

@Sabeen: I agree, that cup scene, even though it will now be made fun of endlessly, was one of the finer and more delicate moments of the show and Sanam nailed it.
And no, that scene was not in the novel… much of what Sir Ibrar says were Z’s lines .. .

Kashaf’s expressions at the chai scene justified her ‘haan’. I just wished they played the magni part and not just showed it as pictures at the end. That’s the moment we all have been waiting for so anxiously, it just swept by. And, by the look of preview next week, they will be married. Would have loved to see some courtship and budding chemistry between the two before marriage.

AAAA the review is here!! Loved it SZ as usual!! And thanks ! 🙂 Really appreciate having this space to talk and discuss!!

I too thought Sanam was brilliant in the scene..from frustration and slight disgust..to disbelief..to a little overwhelmed and embarrassed by his confession to finally emotionally touched and moved..her subtle facial expressions were brilliant. The same applied to chai ka cup scene with Sidra…Loved her reasoning and the fact that she didnt deny having a soft corner for him always 🙂
Fawad was just sublime…loved his casual chappals appearance to the most sincere expressions in his face…it was such a treat to watch

I loved him in the scene with Rafia too…how can anyone say no to a son in law like that? He was so respectful and honest. And of course the monologue about Sharafat and sharmindigi was a good insight into his mind..

And the diary of a mad man…haha..

Kashaf had lovely dialogues too…I loved how she was so worried about maintaining a facade..so realistic of girls :)..even what she tells Sir Abrar about women making compromises…that was nice..she is thinking girl and its nice to hear her say insightful things.

I wish Sidra wouldnt butt in so much…but all is well that ends well. I wanted them to reach that point all by themselves. But I will take what I can get..we have waited so long now.
She called him so why did she tell her mother ‘humne usse nahi bulaya??”

Rafia…I think that was a moment of frustration…more like telling your child….because you refuse to listen to me and take my advice I have to listen to more hurtful nonsense from the neighbors…It has to hurt Kashaf badly but I think it was more a line about repercussions of stubborn children not listening to parents.

Overall I loved the episode!!

I wish we got an actual engagement ..why the picture montage? we have waited 17 weeks for heaven’s sake!! And why didnt we get to see her say yes to his proposal? That was really cheating the audience of important moments!! I wish we get to see him tease her pyaar se coz she always sticks her nose in the air…I have waited so long to see her smile!!

Sanam looked so pretty…pink is her color!!

Osama ka kissa finally khatam hua…thank heavens…!!

We still have not seen the other daughters or Sidra’s husband!! What is up with that??

Agree with you, Sanam was fab!! But I was wish they showed more of the scene, Kashaf wiping his hand or bandaging it, kuch bhi of that sort and then saying Yes to him, and both smile at each other!! Something more!!

Also, if it weren’t for Sidra butting in and calling him over for chai would it have really happened?? Mujhe toh lagta hai, Sidra invited more for herself then for Kashaf, BC she was dying to meet Zaroon. And then she was giving him the stare and weird looks! .. She’s got the hots for him , Kashaf needs to watch out..

Ahhh the chapals.. Loved Zaroon’s casual look from head to toe in that scene! If it weren’t for the eye candy , this drama has nothing else to offer! 🙂

Haha funny you should mention that because I really for a tiny moment thought she would bandage his hand…But then K is not at all touchy feely, not even with her sisters…So as far as Z goes its near impossible before Shaadi! 🙂

I think butt in was the wrong word…the way they showed it, it was fine…Sidra played cupid…but for some reason from whatever snippets I have read of the translated novel, I really expected them to reach this point on their own. I know there is a part in the book where he waits for her outside her office and she makes him wait the whole day. And since she specifically said ‘dont come to my office last week’, I thought he would go for sure! :)..Whatever they did show was good too. I think as far as Sidra was concerned, she was scared they will lose one more opportunity because of her sisters iron will. And of course the part you mentioned too, her unkahi unsuni crush on him 😛

I liked the episode (actually Zaroon’s scenes) inspite of the fact that it’s too little too late….yes, the chai scene was nicely done and cute. but I wish they’d shown some more, like the actual mangni, like the ‘haan’, some dialogues after the haan.

Rafia was a bit of a pain this ep, apart from the jhar she gives Kashf, she was eyeing Zaroon weirdly when he visited. Usama is a retard or a just badly written character.
But let me now bore you with all this…. Mangni mubarak!

SZ, I liked the scene in the book where K is at Sir Abrar’s place and talking to him unaware the Z is listening. How I wish they’d added that. Or did I miss it? Am going to read the novel today to see what else did they miss out now. And going to imagine FK as Z aur phir zindagi gulzar ho jaayegi.

Zaroon isn’t the saving grace, the yummilicious Fawad Khan is! this story is annoyingly disproportionate. In these 17 episodes, 50-60% of content was entirely dedicated to kahaf and crew’s scenes related to or whining about their daddy. yeah EVERYONE in pakistan gets it, he’s a D bag!! and now at the 17th episode they are all of a engaged without convincing the audience why, when, and how zaroon fell in love with such a rude, abnoxious and immature girl to the extent that he suddenly wanted to marry her.

so much time was spent on people’s reactions/commentary(particularly the saukan,taya,dad) on the elder sister’s haan and eventual wedding, but they didn’t care to show the reaction of the dad OR the saukan on kashaf’s haan(which was the only one that mattered actually).

and don’t get me started on the confusing timeline. one minute they are in college, other minute CSS is done. sis gets divorced and next episode the hubby has a kid with another woman while kashaf and zaroon are exactly where they were a year(or two?) ago.

The reviewer is trying to propagate wishful thinking. Having full faith in the directors’ abilities to disappoint us as its going on for the past 17 weeks. I’ve never seen a drama which is more dedicated to everyone apart from the main leads a rare feat this drama is trying to achieve. As expected, Samina Peerzada will get the max footage followed by Ghazala [Hina Bayat] & jealous Nigar. Whatevr is left will be given to convo.s b/w Sidra & Kashf. I’m not a futurologist just a regular viewer who has seen a wonderful story of the novel being ruined. Sanam Saeed’s actingsis part of the disappointment, esp. of the current episode. Her emotionless demanour is mind-boggling.

LOL Most of us have been disappointed bc normally the main leads are the reason people start watching a show to begin with, so they should be given the most screen time, not the supporting characters who basically repeat the same lines from day one! 🙂
Oh well! Heres to hoping that post wedding we get to see the main leads spend A LOT of quality time together! Fingers Crossed.

@royter: I’m not quite sure where you see me propagating wishful thinking… We’ve all complained about the shifted focus of the serial, but after a certain point there is no point in flogging a dead horse … everybody knows the horse has already met is maker .. as for Sanam’s acting, eberyone’s entitled to their opinion. I for one think Sanam is great ,not just here but in Talkhiyan as well,where she is simply outstanding.

Agree the engagement should have got much scenes A full episode would also be justified beginning from the rushed preparations shopping tension and Fun. It would be lovely seeing How Zaroon n Kashaf were preparing for the day 🙂

Maybe they will show the preps for the wedding as its more important then the engagement! I just hope they show an ACTUAL wedding and not a bunch of pictures!!, Bc then i will officially hate this show.

Plus I also protest the engagement scenes being reduced to pictures. Adding 3 min.s of a simple engagemnt ceremony was the least they could do after forcing useless dull tracks of Asmara and Sara upon the viewers. Hopefully they improve screentime b/w Kashf & Zarun in the later episodes or else the drama willl be seen as another lost project.

nice review sz:)
haha, this chai ka cup has become really famous now, ruling all the fbk newsfeeds 😀
anyway lovely episode, my life was very gulzaaar after watching this one, cant wait for the wedding! also maybe i am the only one but i liked this way of showing engagement, as long as they show the shaadi properly, they better show it 😛
oh oh and yes…since i am writing after a long time here, i need to praise Fawad Khan for his outstanding acting, the man is just marvellous.epic.amazing.OUT OF THIS WORLD!! aahh ❤ but seriously the way he brought zaroon to life and made us fall in love with him after all hypocrisies he had shown previously! matlab i am tou TEAM ZAROON now, esp the last few episodes i am just drooling over zaroon and in this chai ka cup scene when he was speaking his heart out,my my! who could have resisted those charms, wahin yes yes ke tasbeeh parh denii the 😀 i mean even my granny was like * Jaldii han kardo bhaii plz *
Fawad Khan you are just marvellous!! God Bless you always ❤ !!

with you on the praises to Fawad Khan!! jitni mili utni kam hai!! That man is just perfect!! He is the epitome of an amazing actor. He’s got the looks, the style, the expressions, the EVERYTHING… A complete package!
Fawad Khan deserves an Oscar! He’s the reason I, also well fell in love with Zaroon! Team Zaroon all the way!! 🙂

Hey thanks SZ for the review… much awaited episode & much awaited review :)…. “chai ka cup” scene Was wonderful n Yes K &Z did it beautifuly…. What i think proposal acceptance was wayyy better in novel, in one of above comments someone said “kashaf was unaware of Z prescence”- No she was well aware with that he is in Next room- scenario, the coffee cup, carkeys, his perfume! It was beautifuly written , but yeah for tv viewers this lighter side is Okay….!! 🙂

It was one of the best episodes of ZGH. I thought enjoyed it. The editing was great. Not for a moment did I feel bored of this episode.
How do I sum up me excitement and liking for the chai scene?! Zaroon was adorable, from his khana chahiye demand to his bechare looks when his hand is burnt. Everything was perfectly done by FK.
I really liked Kashaf’s deep thoughts about the cup. She really was impressed! K2 ko bhi mana liya:D

Ghazala just continues to surprise me, her thoughts on their ‘honesty’ were obnoxious. Woman!!! I am looking forward to how Kashaf deals with such a mother-in-law. The stout girl Kashaf is , I doubt they’ll ever get along very well. Let’s see!

Nice Review SZ.Loved the episode. Loved the Chai scene.But would have loved to see Kashaf say ‘yes’!! FK was excellent as usual. Sidra is portrayed so beautifully by Mansha Pasha. Instead of looking interfering,she looks so concerned and cute.She makes Sidra look so real!
Osama remains the weakest link.Most of the dialogues in this serial are said with the same smile.Has some one told him that he looks very handsome while smiling?? Sir Abrar is the other very cute character. I loved his dialogues.

hehe Osama does look cute but omG he smiles way tooo much for my liking.. Such a happy camper.. Kashaf rejects him and he is smiling telling her about him gettin married to someone else.. Clearly he didn’t love her enough!

Sidra is indeed a very caring character.. Always looking out for her sister’s betterment but i still think she has the hots for Z.. hehe

OH Pleeeaaase Ash.. don’t do this to me. I have had enough of two sisters and their jealousies- with one sis trying to run away with her bro in law!! Please don’t remind me of that AT ALL and NOT where Sidra is concerned! She is such a fav of mine. The best sis one can think of- always more worried about her sister’s comfort. Please don’t spoil it for me:( I saw the epi again just so I could detect any wierd looks from Sidra.. but no, she is the same simple sweet girl just trying to make sure that the guy her sis has admired always, does not use his’second option’ too, like Usama. I think Sidra has been played to perfection!I hope MD productions NEVER EVER do this to their viewers again. The sisters hate sagas makes me nausious!!However I agree any other girl( including us) can, and do have the hots for FK 🙂

Thanks SZ.Not ghaib at all.Enjoying the episodes and reading the comments:)Just felt like commenting this time:)Want to hug the chai wala Naukar and Sidra for giving FK the opportunity to smile in ‘that’ way during the engagement ceremony:) He is just FAB!! Loving ZGH!!

I am glad the viewers finally feel Zindagi Gulzar hai! 🙂 and even then, we get cheated from an actual live engagement scene!! The pics were such a tease, and here i am looking fwd to seeing Zaroon all dressed up in a shalwar kameez, Kashaf smiling for a change, and what do we get, a bunch of pics??? If they were all ready for the occasion then why not just show it..Huge disappointment!!

I really disliked the blame game Rafia pulls on Kashaf for not getting married and for that reason uski maa ki izzat ruswa ho rahi hai… What kinda bloody message are they tryna get across?? Or is this the mentality of lower middle class people ke no matter what , daughter must get married off, whether she wants to or not bc uski waja se izzat kharab ho rahi hai.. Anyone mind telling konsi izzat?? I am honestly sick of these same ol same ol dialogues about this issue in every other drama.

Sometimes it is all about actions more then words, and it was Zaroon’s action that won Kashaf’s heart. Except now its the best urdu meme out there, and itni serious scene ka mazak ban gaya. Clearly she is not much about the “promises and apologies” cause if she was, she would have forgiven him a while ago… khair jo bhi, they are finally about ready to tie the knot and that took 17 episodes.. So gives us 6 -7 episodes of happy Zaroon and Kashaf…

We love FK; he(Z) and Kashaf are looking good together, but what is the real point of this drama??
I for one do not know but I am looking forward to the long awaited post wedding scenes of K and Z!! 🙂

oh and who invited Hamad to the engagement, and why not the 2 sisters missing in action. Kashaf was the one who disliked her father the most, magar woh mangni par kaise pohunch gaya, and Kashaf seemed to have no issue with that at all ?! O.o. Odd!

Ash, loved your analysis. I kind of understand Rafia’s frustration but she shouldnt have said anything, Kashaf should have come to that realization all on her own.

But more importantly, I completely agree with you, that you dont need marriage to save image in society. Considering that dad has half ruined their image and not discounting how hard Rafia and her daughters have worked to get ahead in their lives that part was so not necessary. I really dislike that auntie. She only has bad news to share.

awesome review SZ! 🙂 I cannot wait until Kashaf starts falling head over heels for Zaroon… He made my heart melt when he said something along the lines that he doesn’t even know when he started to fall for her….

Team Zaroon all the way!

a feeling of sadness came over me when i saw this episode because its almost coming to an end…:(

@Ash and Aish (tum donon ne naam plan kar ke rakhey hain?) I don’t have the energy to translate all of the stuff. but can summarize a bit….
Like in the tv show, Kashf comes to Sir Abrar’s place. Usually the servant would usher her into the study immediately but that day she’s told to wait in the living room which she finds odd. She’s later called in. On entering the study she gets a whiff of Eternity, a perfume Z’s been using for ever. She also notices his car keys on the table (she’d noticed them before when he came to meet her in the office) and 2 cups of coffee on the table. One in front of the Sir and one on the side, still half drunk. So she puts it all together and guesses that Z is in the next room listening to her convo. Sir Abrar tells of all the reasons she should marry Z (he’s matured, good person, loves you) and she makes it a point to verbalize all her misgivings (flirt hai, maybe ameer hai etc).
At some stage Sir Abrar calls in Z and K is obviously not surprised and tells them that she knew all along he was there. Now SA and Z are the surprised ones. Any way SA leaves them alone and Z starts off. Z tells her that he may have been a flirt but at no stage did he cross the limit. He also says that even if K marries someone else, there’ll be no guarantees that that man has been shareef. This point makes sense to K and she thinks that if there are no guarantees in marriage then chalo Z he sahi. Z confesses his love for her etc. After he’s gone, she agrees to the proposal. SA calls Z and says “Zooni, tum aaenda mere ghar mithai le kar aana”. “Zooni” is v surprised at the quick acceptance and calls K to thank her. But it’s a short call and apart from the thank you, Z doesn’t have the himmat to try to small talk K.

Thanks soooo much for this ! you freakin rock! 🙂 I am loving the details from the novel more then what was shown on screen. I dk why they don’t go with the actual novel. This scenario would have worked out so much better.
Oh well i am just happy they are moving the story along. …
.

I, for one, am so glad they are married. 17 episodes and we probably dont have more than 20 scenes of the leads talking to each other. Like one of my friends said, this entire show we have been watching leads talk to walls, diaries and macs!
oh yeah not to forget sabzi ka bill 😦

Afia, I love you 🙂 But seriously thanks so much!! You dont know how much I’m craving to read the novel but I cant:(

Like, Sadaf mentioned I’m not sure it would have worked on screen either. I think that would have made Kashaf seem too cold and callous. Her weighing the pros and cons of marrying an unknown as opposed to Zaroon fits in really well with her character but I think as viewers who dont really get into her mind except when talks into her diary it would have been hard to digest. It would have made her just a little bit better than scheming Zaroon from university days. I love the name Zooni..so cute!!

Don’t know which version would have done better- but I liked the chai idea too 🙂 I guess whichever is directed better, wins.
About the mangni slideshow, maybe it was for the best… to show the mangni this way and the wedding in proper (hopefully). Otherwise we might have accused them of showing a shadi ka video! Actually the eng’ment came soooo late in the show that everyone was dying to see some action 🙂
Aish we can always go back to the humsafar thread 😉

This was a moment of SHOCK for me!! I mean i cant thank Sidra(the loveliest person on the show!) and Osama(even though his help was indirect)……They got married!! YAY!! Plus the precap was soooooooo GOOD! though it confused me a little but it looked interesting! 🙂 Keep Up the Great Work the makers of ZGH!!

Wow I’m so late commenting…ke chai ka cup tanda hogaya or Zaroon ka haath healed ready !
That tender sweet moment that opened the doors of Kashafs heart has become the brunt of fb jokes lol
I’m just glad Kashaf actually smiled and is somewhat happy and now we can get on with it and watch some of those lovely ost scenes!

Annoyance n.o 1
How did murtaza wiggle into those pictures with sidekick hammad when Kashaf has not forgiven him….I would like to know how that happened! After all the useless scenes of murtaza and nigaar talking about everybody and anybody they could not show kashafs reaction and what happened for him to come to Kashafs engagement??

2. Usama you are a freak and I’m sure you all have said this but I had to say it again! who laughs like a cheshire cat when telling someone they proposed too they are getting married…Control your emotions buddy!
3. Why could they have not shown kashaf saying yes to.Zaroon?;?…again so many useless scenes…Sara ka divorce..uska rona..uska shalwar kameez pehna, sidra ka rishta, shenila ka uni jaanaa…murtaza Aur nigar ka watermelon do asthma kaaba….
but Jo sabse important scene that could have blown us away ….ghaib kardiya or Yeh Lo…make do with their diary thoughts.
Thank You ZGH team for giving us the cake without the frosting!!
SZ Thank You for your brilliant review as always!!

Just watched all 18 episodes over the last three nights and I am definitely hooked! So much so, that I actually found the novel online and read that (most of it – I did skip some in the beginning). The screenplay is much better in my opinion. “Novel Zaroon” is really, really chauvinistic and borders on abusive. The novel is set in the 80s, so naturally there are differences in settings, technology – that is mostly negligible – but the character development in the screenplay is superior and much more relatable.

Hi Ash! Let me try and explain how he is depicted without spoiling too much. Actually, UA has already deviated quite a bit from her novel, so that I predict that Zaroon will not be characterized as negatively as I perceived him to be in the novel.

“Novel Zaroon” (NZ) is very demanding and possessive and quite the egomaniac. As confident as DramaZaroon (DZ) is, he manages to balance his ego with his earnest contemplations of his own life and family, which we especially see when he writes in his journal.

It’s hard to empathize and relate to NZ, because you don’t read any vulnerability in his character, if he has any doubts or issues they only exist because others aren’t conforming or deferring to him – it’s not because he admits any fault of his own.

I just don’t care for the “tone” he is written in. For example this is part of the proposal scene at Sir Abrar’s:

NZ was verbally and mentally abusive to Kashaf on several occasions after they were married. Suffice it to say, I really didn’t like NZ at all. No amount of justification can rationalize his behavior towards her, and surprisingly, there are times that Kashaf seems to make excuses for his behavior, which is out of character for her.

I’m really happy UA wrote the screenplay so differently, because despite Zaroon ‘s issues, you sympathize with him and understand the pathology of his behavior to a certain degree. FAK’s Zaroon is confused and harbors his own set of insecurities which make him real and relatable.